Groundnut Oil

Groundnut is the workhorse. It carries flavour without crowding it, takes a hot kadhai without smoking, and finishes neutral enough to let a tadka of cumin or curry leaves do its job.

In Gujarat and Maharashtra it is the oil of everyday — singdana tel in the home, the choice of the farsan-walla in the bazaar, the base for groundnut-til chutneys that arrive with the thali. In Tamil and Andhra kitchens, it stands in for sesame in summer when til oil sits heavy on the palate.

We press groundnut from a single source in Junagadh, Gujarat — the peanut belt of India, where the bold seed varieties have higher oil content and a cleaner finish. The seed is shelled, sorted, and pressed within seventy-two hours of arrival at the ghaani. Nothing else touches it.

The light gold colour is the giveaway: clear, with the faint smell of the shell when poured. If a groundnut oil smells of cardboard or burnt nut, it has been pressed hot. Ours is not.